Their Companion
by CasperBleu
Summary: After a fight with her parents, Hermione goes to the burrow to find no one but George home. With no where else to go, she stays with him until the rest of the Weasley's and Harry return home. HGGW. Rtd K for now. Rating could change. Not HBP/DH compliant
1. Chapter 1

Okay. This is my first Hermione/George. Hope you guys like it. This story does not comply at all with HBP or DH so no worries there. Please review and tell me what you think.

P.S. For those of you looking for the sequal to my fic, _Untitled_, this isn't it. ;-) However, have no fear, the first chapter is in the works. Just know that all your begging paid off. I just had this story ready to start.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. Unless you don't recognize them, then they're probably mine. :-) Please don't sue me.

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Their Companion

Ch. 1

Hermione smiled happily as she, Harry and Ron rode the train back to King's Cross Station for the last time, to meet their parents. It was the end of their seventh year and they were official out of school.

Hermione didn't know what she wanted to do next. Her idea had always been University, but now she wasn't sure she wanted to put herself through that stress all over again. Plus, Professor McGonagall had hinted that there may be a teaching position for her when school started again in September. She had said that with as much experience she had with Harry and Ron, she could find a teaching job almost anywhere.

A small explosion to her right brought her out of her musings. She looked over toward the boys and saw that Ron's eyebrows had been were smoking. They had been playing a game of exploding snap. She could guess the outcome.

"Can you believe it's finally over?" Ron asked, fanning his eyebrows.

"I know," Harry said. "I'm just happy Dumbledore isn't making me go back to the Dursley's."

"I think he was afraid of what you might do now that you can do magic outside school," Ron said with a grin, earning a grin from the other two.

"So what are you gonna do with your new freedom, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to spend some time with my parents. Then I'm going to start looking for my own flat. What about you two?"

"We'll probably just hang out at the Burrow for a while. Go get the few things of Harry's that are left at the Dursley's," Ron said. "I think we might be going to visit Charlie in a few weeks, but nothing too much right away, ya know?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "This may surprise you, but all I want to do is lay around the house with nothing to do."

"Sounds good to me," Harry said as the train pulled into the station. "I think the first thing I'm gonna do is take a nap."

They made their way off the train and over to pick up their trunks. Once they had, they began to look around for their parents. They spotted Mr. Weasley first and made their way over to him.

"Hello boys, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said, shaking hands with both boys and giving Hermione a hug. "How was the trip?"

"Pretty uneventful," Ron said.

"Well, that's good," Mr. Weasley said. "Uneventful is the best kind of trip these days. Do you see your parents yet Hermione?"

"Um..." she started, looking around. "No, not yet. Wait, there they are."

Hermione waved to get her parent's attention. Then she, Harry, Ron and Mr. Weasley made their way over.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione said, hugging each of her parents.

"Welcome home, dear," Mrs. Granger said, while Mr. Granger shook hands with Mr. Weasley.

"Thanks mum," Hermione said smiling.

"Well, we should get going," Mr. Granger said. "It was good to see you all again."

"You too," Harry, Ron and Mr. Weasley said at about the same time.

Hermione walked back over to Harry and Ron and hugged them both.

"Now, you two behave yourselves. Owl me when you get back from your trip and we'll get together and do something."

"Sounds like fun," Harry said and Ron nodded.

"Well," she said, stepping back. "I'd better go. My dad can be kind of impatient. Mr. Weasley," she said, giving Ron's dad a big hug. "Make them behave."

"I'll try," he said, smiling.

"I'll see you guys later."

"Good bye," Harry and Mr. Weasley said as Ron waved and said "Later."

With one last wave, she disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

The ride home was quiet. Hermione watched the trees go by outside her window. She was glad to be going home, but she already missed her friends. She was already excited about seeing them when they got back from Romania. Maybe they could go to Diagon Alley and she could start looking for a flat.

"Here we are," her dad said as they pulled into the driveway. "Home sweet home."

Hermione sighed and smiled. It was good to be home.

"Where's your luggage?" he asked as they got out of the car.

"I shrunk it down before I got off the train. It's in my pocket."

"Oh," he said oddly, glancing at her mother, who glanced back. "Okay. Well, less work for me then, right?" he said with a laugh that wasn't quite genuine.

"Right," Hermione said, laughing as well, missing the odd tone in her father's laugh.

"Let's go inside," her mother said and they all turned and went inside.

* * *

It was about a week and a half later before it happened. 'It' being the biggest fight between her and her parents she'd ever had in her life.

The morning started out like every other morning. Hermione came downstairs for breakfast with her parents. She sat down at the table where her dad was sitting, but the tension circled around her like clothes that fit too tight. They ate in silence for a few moments before Hermione spoke.

"Okay, what's going on?" she asked, putting her fork down.

"Hermione," her father started. "What do you plan on doing now that you're finished with that school?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet," Hermione said. She was surprised at his tone and was sure that by him calling Hogwarts _that school_ she wasn't going to like where this conversation was going. "I thought I'd relax for a little while, then begin looking for a job. Why do you ask?"

"Well," her mother said. "We were hoping you would want to go to University. That way you can get a sensible job."

Hermione was really getting worried about the conversation now. Her mother put a little too much stress on the _sensible_ part.

"But there are no wizarding universities," she said calmly, watching out for their reactions. "Besides, I think I'm as prepared as I can be for a job in the Wizarding World."

"The Wizarding World," her father said under his breath, but she could still hear him. This was not going to be good. "You want to work in the Wizarding World then?"

"Of course. Is that a surprise?"

"Well," her mother stepped in again. "I guess we thought that once you were finished with that school, that maybe you would settle down and do something normal. You know, once you got it out of your system."

"Normal?" she asked, feeling her anger rise. Hermione couldn't believe her ears. She'd always thought her parents supported her being a witch. Now she had a feeling she knew some of what Harry felt like most of his life. "Out of my system? Mum, it's who I am! It's not something I can turn on and off!"

"But you can't plan on being part of both worlds," her mother said.

"Why not? Loads of people do it and they get by just fine!" Hermione said, trying to keep her cool. It didn't work, however, when her father mumbled something under his breath. "What?"

"I said," he said angrily. "What if _we_ don't want you too?"

"What your father means is..."

"I know what he means!" Hermione yelled. "I want to hear it from him!"

"If you live here," he said, after taking a deep breath. "Then you have to leave that world behind."

"What!?" Hermione shrieked. "You're making me choose!?"

"Yes," he replied. "We are."

"Mum?" she said but her mother only turned away.

"Fine," Hermione said, determined not to let the tears fall. "Fine."

She turned and all but ran to her room. She slammed her door as hard as she could. Leaning against it, she slid down to the floor, slowly dissolving into tears.

When Hermione woke up, it was dark and she was lying on the floor with her back pressed up against the door. She sat up and looked around her room, wondering what had changed. She always thought her parents supported her. She guessed she'd been horribly wrong. She stood up, putting a determined look on her face.

"If that's the way they want it," she said out loud to no one. "Then that's the way it'll be."

It didn't take long before she had packed up all her stuff, shrunk it down and was ready to leave. She looked around the room she'd grown up in and wondered if she'd ever see it again.

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Well...there ya go! Remember, reviews are love. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you guys so much for your reviews! I'm glad you liked the first chapter! Well, here's the second chapter. I know it's kind of short and I appologize. However, it kind of needed to end here so I can start the next part. Hope you all like it! I liked writing this one because I get to imitate Mrs. Weasley. Loads of fun, I'll tell you. Okay, the next chapter will be up in a day or two. It's written, I've just gotta get it typed. Again, thanks for the reviews! Happy reading!

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Their Companion - ch. 2

"Now George," Mrs. Weasley said as she rushed around the housed. "Don't forget to..."

"De-gnome the garden, eat at least one good meal a day which you have so graciously prepared for me, and don't do anything that will cause damage of any kind to the house," George finished for her. "You've told me a million times already. I'm going to be fine. I'm a grown man now, remember?"

Mrs. Weasley stopped and sighed. "I know," she said, grabbing him into a hug. "I know."

"Do we have everything?" Mr. Weasley asked as he came into the kitchen.

"I think so," Mrs. Weasley said, reluctantly letting go of George and turning towards the stairs. "Boys! Let's go!"

After much rumbling (and not a small amount of grumbling about being called 'boys') Harry and Ron came downstairs.

"We're coming, we're coming," Ron was saying as they came into the kitchen.

"Do you have all your things?"

"Yes, mum. We shrunk 'em down."

"Alright then," Mr. Weasley said. "Let's go."

"Now George," Mrs. Weasley said as Mr. Weasley, Ron and Harry went into the sitting room to the fireplace.

"Relax," George said, cutting her off and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Everything will be fine. You go see Charlie and have fun."

"Alright dear," she said, smiling at him.

"Send me an owl when you get there, okay?"

"We will."

"Are we going?" Mr. Weasley called from the other room.

"Better go before dad has a fit."

They walked to the fireplace where Mr. Weasley, Ron and Harry were standing.

"You sure your going to be alright, George?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I'll be fine, dad. It's not like I haven't been alone before. Besides, Fred'll be back in a few weeks."

"He's going to stay here with you?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She sounded almost scared.

"Nah," George said with a wave of his hand. "He's going back to the flat. Besides, what would we do with Angelina?" _And he really hadn't meant to say that out loud_.

Everyone knew what that meant, even if Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't want to admit it. Their son was an adult and, apparently, doing adult things. That, however, didn't mean they wanted to know about it.

"Well," Mr. Weasley said after a moment of silence. "Shall we go?"

"Let's," said Ron and Harry together. Ron reached out and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Diagon Alley," he said clearly and vanished in a puff of green flames. Harry, having learned his lesson long ago, mirrored him and too was gone.

"Alright there George?" Mr. Weasley asked, putting out his hand.

"Alright," George responded, shaking his father's hand and pulling him into a hug. "You guys have fun and don't get into any trouble."

"Shouldn't we be telling that to you?"

"Mum already did. Repeatedly."

"Ah. I see," he said. "Well then. No need to say it again then. Come along dear." He grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

"I'll be right behind you."

"Right then. Good-bye George."

"Bye dad. Have a nice trip."

"Diagon Alley," Mr. Weasley said with a smile and he disappeared in the green flames.

"Give me a hug dear," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling George into a bone crushing hug. "Send us an owl if you need anything."

"I will. You do the same."

"We will. Well," she said, finally grabbing a handful of floo powder and stepping into the fireplace. "Best not keep your father waiting. Have a good time, dear."

"You too, mum."

"Diagon Alley!" she shouted and she too was gone in a burst of green flames. George stood there a moment before heading off to find something to do.

* * *

The first few days were fun for George. His mother wasn't there to watch his every move. Not even Fred was there. He felt like he was truly independent for the first time in his life. And it felt great.

However, the wonderful new found freedom quickly became total boredom. With no Ron and Ginny to prank and no Fred to scheme with, he soon found himself hunting for something to do. It seemed he'd used up all his options in the first few days and there was only so much one-man Quidditch a person could play, really. Right now, he was wishing he hadn't agreed to watch the house while his mum and dad were gone and he'd gone to Ireland with Fred. It would've been much more fun.

George sighed. Maybe he should owl someone and see if they wanted to spend some time at the Burrow.

_Maybe Hermione'd like to come over for a while_, he thought to himself. Of course, that thought was quickly followed by _Where the hell did that thought come from?_ accompanied by a shake of the head.

"It would be inappropriate anyway," he said out loud to no one. "Why am I even thinking about this?"

In the end, George decided not to owl anyone. Instead he took a nap and decided he'd deal with it later.

George went on like this for a while. Boredom mixed with independence and the want for someone, anyone, to visit. But one day, things changed.

* * *

Hermione took a deep breath. She had decided to leave when her parents were gone. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle the crying that was sure to come from her mother, or the disapproving looks from her father. But she'd made her decision and nothing they could do would changed her mind. Well, except take back what they'd said. That, however, she knew would never happen. Her dad was too set on his decision.

She took another deep breath and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Her fireplace had been connected for protection purposes and she had never been so glad for it. She stepped into the fireplace with tears in her eyes and shouted the name of the only place she could think of where she could afford and she knew she'd be welcome.

"The Burrow!"

Then she disappeared in a flash of green smoke, leaving her childhood home which she was almost certain she'd never see again.

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Hope you enjoyed it! Remember, reviews are love! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story! I hope I'm doing the characters justice. I try to keep them as in character as possible and still have some freedom with them. :-) Anyway, again, it's kind of short but I promise I'm trying to make the chapters longer. Thank you to all of you guys that have reviewed. To keep this short this time, remember that I don't own these guys/girls. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit and promise to return them unharmed. Mostly. Also, any mistakes are my own and, as I've said before, HBP and DH are pretty much non-existant. Now, on to the story!

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Their Companion - ch. 3

George was in the kitchen trying to decide what he wanted to eat. He figured he would eat and then decide how to amuse himself for the rest of the day. He was just about to move from the counter to the kitchen table when he heard the fireplace flare up. When he went to investigate, he was surprised to see the small, but grown-up, form of Hermione coming through.

"Hermione?"

"George!" she said, trying to sound cheerful. "Or is it Fred?"

"It's George," he said, still somewhat bewildered. "Not to sound rude but, what are you doing here?"

"Oh," Hermione said, doing some quick thinking. "I needed to talk to Ginny about something. Face to face, not in a letter."

"Oh," he said, accepting the answer for now. "Well she's not here. They're all still in Romania visiting Charlie."

"Oh," she said, her faux-cheery expression falling. "I just...I really...I just needed..." she shuttered and to George's horror, she burst into tears.

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her into his arms and holding her close, trying hard not to think about how good it felt to hold her. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can work it out. I know I'm not the one you were looking for, but I'm a pretty good listener when it comes down to it."

She pulled back, still hiccupping and sniffing.

"Thank you, George," she said, drying her eyes. She noticed a rather large spot on the front of his shirt. "Oh dear. I've gotten your shirt all wet."

George let out a small laugh and looked down at his shirt. "So you did. My wand's in the kitchen. Let's go in there and I'll dry it. Then we can have a cup of tea and talk. If you want to," he added. She smiled and followed him.

She sat down at the table while he dried his shirt and made some tea. They remained silent, until he had given her a cup and sat down with his own.

"So," he said, figuring she wasn't going to say anything. "What happened?"

Hermione sighed and stared at her cup for so long he thought she wasn't going to answer.

"It's my parents," she said softly. "At first, when I got home, everything was fine. We had fun and laughed just like always. Then yesterday morning..."

She fell silent and George let her take her time. However, when it looked like she wasn't going to continue, he prodded.

"What happened yesterday morning?" he said, concerned.

"Yesterday morning, I went down to breakfast like usual," she said softly. "Everything seemed normal. Dad was at the table and Mum was starting the breakfast dishes. But they seemed very tense. When I asked what was wrong, my dad asked me what I was going to do now that I was done with Hogwarts. They said they really wanted me to go to University. I told them there weren't any wizarding universities and that I probably had all the schooling I really needed to work in the Wizarding World anyway. They seemed to not like that too much."

"Why?" George asked. "What did they say?"

"They said," she said, tears again forming in her eyes. George reached out and covered her hand with his. "They said that they had hoped that after I was done with Hogwarts, that I would have gotten it out of my system and would go back to being _normal_! They said that they didn't want me to live in both worlds. They told me to either give up magic or leave! They made me choose, George!"

She yelled the last part and burst into tears again. George moved around to her side of the table and held her again, gently rubbing her back.

"So what did you do?" he asked once the tears had slowed, although he already knew the answer.

"Well," she said softly. "I ran to my room and cried. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember, it was night time. I vaguely remember my mom calling to me though the door, but that's all. I got up and packed all my stuff and, as soon as they had left for work this morning, I came here. It was the only place I could think of."

"You're always welcome here, Hermione. You know that," George said softly, thinking of how he sounded exactly like his mother at that moment.

"Thanks, George," she said with a little smile, which he returned.

They sat in silence for some time, each drinking their tea and lost in their own thoughts. Company was exactly what he'd been thinking about. However, he wasn't sure Hermione would want to stay with only him. After watching her spin her cup around for the 77th time, he stood up.

"C'mon," he said, offering her his hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked, giving him her hand and letting him pull her up.

"To Ginny's room," he said, thinking of how perfect her hand fit into his. "You look tired. Did you bring your stuff with you?"

"Yes but I couldn't intrude on your solitude, George."

"Oh please, intrude away," he said with a wide grin. "I've been bored out of my mind for the last three days and could use the company."

"Well," she said as they started up the stairs. "If you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure. Besides, Mum would kill me if I let you leave," he said, grinning at her again, which she returned. "Here we are," he said once they reached Ginny's room. "Now you sleep for a couple of hours and I'll wake you for lunch, okay?"

"Alright. Not too long though?"

"Just a couple of hours. I promise."

Hermione smiled, then nodded. He smiled back, then turned but before he left, she called him back.

"Um...George?"

"Yeah?" he said, turning back to her.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, then left.

She watched him go, wondering when he got so sweet. She sighed and laid down, instantly falling asleep.

* * *

"Hermione," she heard her father's voice say. "Come with us and leave that world behind." 

"Dad?" she called out, but could see no on in the dark place. "Where are you?"

"Hermione," the voice kept calling her.

"Dad?"

"Hermione," she heard again, but the voice had changed. "C'mon, Hermione. Wake up."

She opened her eyes to see the smiling face of George Weasley leaning over her. She then remembered she had been asleep and her father's voice had been a dream.

"Finally," George said, straightening back up. "I've got some lunch ready. Come on downstairs."

"Okay," she said, sitting up. "I'll be right down."

"Don't take too long or else there might not be anything left." He gave her a sly grin and a wink and was gone.

She stood up and stretched, smiling at his boyish nature. However, her face suddenly fell into a slight frown and she hurried downstairs. It had occurred to her that, this time, he might not be joking.

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Hope you enjoyed it! Remember, reviews are love. ;-) 


	4. Chapter 4

Okay. Here's the next chappie! Sorry it's taken so long. I've got a couple of stories, plus my computer picked an unfortunate time to fall ill. It is, in fact, going to the computer doctor tomorrow so I don't know how soon the next chapter will come out, but I promise that I will be writing and as soon as I get my comp. back, I'll get a chapter up. Okay? Anyway...thank you to all of you that are reviewing. I'm really enjoying writing it. I'm glad you guys like it. I was told that I have possibly converted someone to the pairing with this story and, I must say, I am flattered by that! It's nice to have new readers...maybe we'll have some new stories ::hint hint:: Okay...now, on to the story!

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Their Companion - Ch. 4

"You want me to go where?"

"C'mon, George," Hermione pleaded. "I'm bored. Just because you're house-sitting doesn't mean you can't leave the house."

"But Flourish and Blotts?" George said, looking horrified. "I haven't been in there in forever!"

"Oh come one, George. No one _you_ know will be in there to see you anyway. And then," she continued while he looked affronted. "We can do anything you want."

"Anything?" George asked, grinning slyly."

"Within reason."

"Fine," George said, sighing. "I'll go to the bookstore with you, if you go to Zonko's with me."

"The Joke shop? George you own one of your own. Why would you want to go there?"

"To check out the competition, of course. See what products are out. Do some research, ya know? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're doing research? That's scary."

"Do you want to go or not?"

"Okay, okay," Hermione said, smiling. "Zonko's it is. I'd even consider going to the Quidditch shop if you buy me lunch."

"Ooh. A girl after my own heart," George said.

"Uh huh," Hermione said smiling. "Of all the men I know, all I have to do is say the word 'Quidditch' and I can have any of them do anything I want."

_You can have me_ George thought to himself. _Where the hell did that come from?_ He mentally slapped himself, filing that away for later...much later.

"Sure ya can," he said to her. "Any of them?"

"Well..." she said, walking towards the stairs. "I got you, didn't I?"

"How do you figure?" he said, following her to the bottom of the stairs.

"She stopped about half-way up and turned around.

"I got you to agree to buy me lunch, didn't I?"

"Well yeah, but I'm getting something for it."

"Exactly. You get to go to the _Quidditch_ shop," she said, grinning slyly before heading back up the stairs. "I'll be ready in a minute," she called back to him.

He watched her go with a shocked expression on his face. He'd just been played. By Hermione Granger! He went and sat down to wait for her, shaking his head. He still couldn't figure out where his thoughts had been coming from. He hadn't thought about Hermione like that in...well ever. _Well, she has grown up,_ his mind told him. He pleasantly told his mind to shut-up when as he heard her coming back down the stairs. He'd deal with it later...maybe.

"Ready to go?" she said, coming into the room. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black, close-fitting shirt. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and George couldn't help but stare. "George?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Let's go," he said, walking to the fireplace.

Hermione watched him in confusion, glad to have his stare off of her. _Why was he staring like that?_ she asked herself. _Maybe he likes you,_ responded another voice that sounded suspiciously like the first. _Don't be ridiculous,_ she said to herself, ending the conversation with herself. She followed George to where he was holding the pot of floo powder out to her.

"Ladies first," he said, grinning.

Feeling the head rise in her cheeks, Hermione took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

"Diagon Alley!" she shouted and disappeared into the green flames.

George took a deep breath and then shook his head before following.

* * *

Hermione was ,very roughly, thrown from the fireplace and into a table in The Leaky Cauldron. She stood up quickly, scanning the room to see if anyone saw her and silently thanked whoever was listening that George had not seen that.

She began to wonder when he was going to join her when, suddenly, the fireplace behind her flared up. George came sliding out, literally. In fact, he came sliding out and ran right into her legs, causing her to lose her balance and fall right on top of him. They lay there, face to face, in shock that they were in this position and it took some time for them to realize they should probably get up.

"Um...Hermione?"

"Yes George?"

"M-maybe we should get up?"

"Yeah, probably," she said, and after a bit of moving around, they were both upright, red-faced and looking everywhere but at each other.

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah," George said and they quickly made their way to the back of The Leaky Cauldron.

By the time they had tapped the brick wall and crossed into Diagon Alley, they had both calmed down enough to talk to each other again.

"So where to first?" Hermione asked.

"The bookstore."

"Excited about it after all, are you?"

"No," he said with a grin before walking away. "I just want to get it over with."

Hermione sighed and followed him.

* * *

"Hello, Hermione," the shopkeeper at Flourish and Blotts said as she and George walked in. "I was wondering when I'd see you again."

"You know I can't stay away for long," she said.

"And...is that a Weasley?" he said, slightly surprised.

"Yes," she said as George wondered away. "I had to bribe him."

"I don't doubt it. I've never seen one of the twins in here voluntarily. Well, if there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks," she said, moving away to browse through the books.

* * *

An hour later, George was bored. He'd found one book on inventing that looked useful, but that was it and now he was ready to go. After hunting for about five minutes, he finally found Hermione next to a pile of books.

"Aren't you ready to go yet?"

"Yes," she said with a sigh. "Just let me pick a few from this pile and pay for them."

Picking 'a few' ended ten minutes later with Hermione deciding to 'splurge' and get them all. There were about twelve and George figured she'd have them read in about two weeks. Once they had paid for their books, they were on their way to Zonko's.

"So," Hermione began with a smile. "You got a book."

"I did. And don't go saying I told you so. I had to find something while I was forced to be in there."

Hermione smiled as they reached the door of the joke shop.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do the same."

They went into the shop and George was off. Hermione could tell he was making notes in his head to tell Fred when he got back. She walked around with him and he told her about all the different products. To his amusement, she was quite fascinated by all of it. An hour later, they emerged from the joke shop, both having bought many things and having come with some very interesting plans for when everyone else got home.

"So where do we want to eat?" George said as they walked out onto the street.

"What about the Quidditch shop?"

"After lunch," George said. "I'm hungry."

"Alright," Hermione said as they turned down the street. She noticed he had turned them away from The Leaky Cauldron. "Um George. The Leaky Cauldron is that way."

"I know. We're not going to The Leaky Cauldron."

"Where are we going then."

"There's a new restaurant I want to try."

"Oh," Hermione said as they stopped in front of a building.

"Here we are."

"The Wizard's Wand? George this place is supposed to be really expensive."

"I've heard it's not that bad. Besides, I get tired of The Leaky Cauldron all the time," he said, leading her inside. "C'mon."

Inside it was really nice. The lighting was low and Hermione thought how it was a pretty romantic place. Which, of course, made her blush and she was grateful for the low lighting.

They were seated and had given their orders almost immediately and were currently enjoying their meals.

"This is really good," Hermione said and George nodded.

"We'll have to eat here again," he said, and then realized how that much have sounded. He felt the heat rise in his face and suddenly found his food very interesting.

Hermione, it seemed, was having the same reaction. Her mind was racing a mile a minute wondering if he had _really_ just suggested they go out together again and she just couldn't bring herself to look up at him right then.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence.

The silence actually did them some good and by the time they were done eating, all embarrassment had gone away. At least they could look at each other again. That was, until the check came.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here," George said, reaching for the check.

"No, George, that was way to expensive. Let me pay for mine," Hermione said, also reaching for the check.

The result was his hand landing on top of hers and causing another short round of silence and looking away. Their hands, however, didn't move.

"Now Hermione," George said finally, after clearing his throat several times. "I promised you lunch."

She nodded as he reluctantly slid his hand out from under hers, along with the check. After he paid the bill, they were on their way to the Quidditch shop. Silently.

* * *

There it is! Hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you think! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hi there! I am soooo sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter out. Remember when I took the computer to the doctor? Well, they had to completely restore my hard drive. I didn't lose everything (thank goodness) but I had to get everything back on here and, well, that took a while. Then Thanksgiving and Christmas came and family stuff started and work got weird so it just took a while. But I'm back now and I'm working hard on the next chapter. I've hit a bit of a brick wall with this one, but I'm sure it'll work itself out. I'd also like to appologize for this one being short. As I said, I've hit a bit of a brick wall, but I wanted to get something out because it had been so long since I've updated. I am really going to try to get the next one out asap, but it's up to the story, so to speak. Hope no one lost interest waiting for this chapter as I LOVE feedback (hint, hint). So sit back (but not too far as you need to be close enough to read), relax and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Their Companion - ch5

They walked to the Quidditch Shop in a tense but comfortable silence. Neither knew quite what to say to the other, and both were happy to leave it that way.

Once inside the shop, they went their separate ways. Well, George abandoned her to look at the new racing models, leaving Hermione to look around on her own. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She was amazed at all the products required for keeping a broom in top condition and, after looking through the books they had, found herself with a new respect for the sophistication and intellect that went into the design and care for the brooms. After picking out a couple of things for Harry's birthday, she found a book that looked interesting and sat down to wait for George. He found her a couple of hours later, sitting in a chair reading.

"Hey," he said, walking over to her.

"Hey," she responded, putting her book down.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. You ready to go?"

"Sorry, yeah. I just have to pay for this stuff," she said adding the book she'd been reading to her things.

"Alright," George said as she stood up. "I've got to pay for some things too."

They walked up to the front and paid for their things. They had to stand in line for thirty minutes, but they were finally on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Need to do anything else before we leave?" George asked as they shrank down their stuff and walked over to the fireplace.

"Nope, not that I can think of," Herminoe said. "You?"

"Nope."

"I guess we're ready to go then."

"After you, m'lady," George said, half bowing.

"Why thank you, kind sir," Hermione said with a giggle.

George smiled as she grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Burrow!" she said and she disappeared in a rush of green flames.

George stood there and watched where she had been standing. He sighed and ran a hand thorugh his hair, unsure of the feelings running through him at the moment. His thorughts were interruped by someone tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hey," said a voice behind him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," George said, turning to see Tom standing there. "Yeah. Just zoned out there for a moment."

"Well zone back in," Tom said, pointing behind him. "You're holding up the floo."

"Right," George said, slightly embarrassed, while he grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Sorry." He stepped into the fireplace and turnd around. "The Burrow!" he shouted and disappeared into the green flames.

* * *

"Hey there," Hermione said, jumping out of the way as George fell through the fireplace. "Where have you been?"

"Staring off into space," George said, standing up.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Sorry I took so long."

"Don't worry about it. I was just starting to get a little worried."

"You were?" George asked, slightly surprised.

"Well...I thought you were right behind me. Then when you didn't come through, I got a little worried because...well, I just got a little worried is all."

Hermione's slight blush didn't escape George's notice and he smiled to himself, deciding to let it pass. Just this once.

"Do you want anything to drink?" he asked, walking over to the cabinets.

"Uh...sure. Pumpkin juice, please."

George nodded and got down two glasses and filled them with pumpkin juice, handing one to Hermione.

"Thanks," Hermione said.

"No problem," George said, taking a sip of his own juice. "So, did you have fun today?"

"I did."

"Even with going to the Quidditch shop?"

"Even with that. I actually found out quite a few things about broom care and design. It was quite facinatting. I have a whole new respect for the whole thing now. How about you? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Even with going to the bookshop?"

"Even with going to the bookshop. I didn't find a new respect for books or anything like that...but I did find some interesting things there. At least you didn't make me go shopping for clothes."

They both laughed.

"So...are you gonna let me take you flying now?" George asked slyly.

"Um...no."

"But you just said you had a new respect for it!"

"Not that much. Respect doesn't replace fear. I'll just study from the ground."

"Okay," George said with a dramatic sigh. "If you insist."

"I do."

They stood in silence for a few moments drinking their juice before noticing the odd look on Hermione's face.

"What?" he asked.

"Thank you so much for going with me, George," she said sweetly. "And for buying me lunch. I really appreciate it."

"It was no problem, really."

They stood there, staring at one another for a few moments beofre George cleared his throat and they both looked away.

"I...uh...I'm going to put these things in my room," Hermione said as she turned and headed up the stairs.

"Okay," he said to her retreating form. "Hey Hermione?"

"Yeah?" she said, turning around.

"I'll make dinner tonight, okay? I'll call you when it's ready."

"Okay," she said smiling. "Let me know if I can help."

"I will," he said returning her smile. He watched her go upstairs, then he sat down, drank his juice and stared at the wall, trying to decide exactly what he'd gotten himself into. And what he was going to make for dinner!

* * *

Again, I'm really sorry it took so long and that it's so short but I promise to get the next one out asap. Hope you liked this one and it's not utter crap. Please review:-) 


	6. Chapter 6

Hey there! Sorry it's taken so long to get this part out. I'm kind of stalled with this one but I'm getting through it. I hope it's not too short for you guys. The next part just needed to not be in this chapter. Anyway. hope you guys enjoy it and I hope it won't take me so long to get the next part out. Thank you guys for all the reviews! They've been a big help. Anyway, on to the story!

PS I apologize if some of this isa bit predictable.I realize that but I thought it was sweet. :-)

* * *

Their Companion - ch. 6

An hour later, George was shuffling around the kitchen, commanding various things to perform their functions. The pot has happily boiling water, a rag was wiping down the table, and a broom was sweeping up the mess he'd made of some pepper. As soon as the rag was finished, the dishes flew to the their place on the table, complete with napkins.

"George? Are you sure I can't help you?" Hermione called from the living room. She had decided to read in there so she could be close by if George caught the house on fire.

"I'm doing fine," George called back. It had been the third time she'd asked him that and he was getting a bit tired of it. "It's not like I've never cooked before," he continued as an onion began chopping itself. "Do you like onions?"

"Yeah, but not to many," she called back. "Do you do more cooking than Fred?"

"Sure do," he said, dropping some noodles into the water. "If I left it up to Fred, we'd starve." He smiled as he heard her laugh.

"Somehow I don't doubt it."

As the meat browned itself, George made sure the table had set itself correctly. He sighed when he realized that it had set itself for six instead of two. He shuffled things around, taking away the extra places and leaving only two facing each other. He just barely stopped himself from lighting candles. _It's just Hermione. It's not that kind of dinner_, he thought to himself.

"Did you say something?" Hermione called.

"Um..No," George responded, realizing he'd thought out loud. "Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes," he went on, noticing the noodles had drained themselves already and the sauce was stirring itself into the meat.

"Alright," he heard her call as he set about finding some bread. He found it in the back of the freezer and sent it to the oven to brown.

While the bread browned, he put the noodles into a bowl and set it on the table. He never trusted magic to move food. It'd be such a waste if it fell.

After setting the noodles on the table between the two plates, he did the same with the sauce. As he did that, a thought came to him.

"Hey, you don't eat salad do you?"

"Only if you force me," she called back.

"Good, 'cause I didn't make any," he said, smiling to himself.

A couple of minutes later, he was moving the bread to the table as well and he stood back to view the table. He sighed. The table really needed the candles lit. It was just too dark without them. He lit the two candles already on the table and stepped back. _Much better_ he thought.

"Alright, Hermione," he called. "Dinner's ready."

Hermione came in and glanced around. Nothing was broken or charred. She was impressed. Then her eyes landed on the table. Even with the simplicity of it, it was beautiful.

"Hope you like spaghetti," he said, only a little nervously.

"It's my favorite," she said.

"Good," he said, breathing out and walking around the table and pulling out her chair. "Then shall we eat?"

She smiled and sat down in the offered chair. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, seating himself. "Ladies first," he said, offering her the spaghetti fork.

"Why thank you, kind sir," she said, taking it from him.

Once she had prepared her plate, he watched her take her very first bite of his cooking.

"Well?" he asked, taking his own bite.

"George this is wonderful," she said.

"You didn't believe I do most of the cooking?"

"No I didn't," she said, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry."

"No worries," he said, waving it off. "None of us so far have made it out of here without Mum making sure we won't starve to death."

"That doesn't surprise me," Hermione said, laughing out loud. She stopped when she saw George smiling at her. "What?"

"That's the first time you've laughed like that since you've been here," he said softly.

She looked at her plate and blushed. "Guess I haven't had much to laugh about lately," she said solemnly.

"Yeah," he said, reaching over and covering her hand with his. "But we'll change that. I made you laugh once. I'm sure I can do it again."

"Thanks George," she said, smiling as she turned her hand over under his and squeezed. "So much."

Neither one noticed they never let go.

* * *

"I said no," George said after dinner.

"And I said yes," Hermione fired back. "You did all of the cooking. It's only right I help with the cleaning."

"You don't have to..."

"I know," she said, cutting him off. "But I want to."

"Alright," George said with a sigh. "I guess it'll go faster with both of us anyway."

She smiled triumphantly and they both set about cleaning up the kitchen.

* * *

In no time at all, the dishes were clean and put away and all of the extra food was put into smaller containers.

"So what do we do now?" Hermione asked, not really wanting the night to end.

"Well," George said, thinking. "We could listen to the radio. Maybe play some chess?"

"Alright," Hermione said after a moment. "But I'm dreadful at chess."

"That's okay," George said. "I'll help you along."

They went into the living room and Hermione turned on the radio and flipped through the channels while George got out the chess set. She finally found something good to listen to while she got massacred at chess.

It didn't take long. Even with George's help she did a dismal job and it took George less than half an hour to take her king.

"I told you I was terrible," she said as he put the game away.

"Nobody's terrible," George said, encouragingly. "You just need practice. Lots and lots and lots of practice," he added, which earned him a slap on the arm.

"I don't think practice is going to help. I'm been practicing with Ron and Harry since we were twelve. If I don't have it yet, I don't think I'm going to."

"I see your point," he said as a slow song came on the radio. "You wanna dance?" he asked boldly. He had no idea why he'd asked but found he was very worried she'd say no.

"Sure," she said, quietly.

He took her hand and walked her to the open part of the room They swayed slowly with the song. Neither said another word and by the time the song was over, Hermione had her head on his chest with their arms wrapped around each other. When the song ended, she looked up at him, but otherwise they didn't move. The next song was fast but they didn't seem to notice.

"You wanna go out and look as the stars?" George asked quietly, hoping it didn't sound too lame.

"Sure."

Slowly, they walked hand in hand out to the back yard where a clear sky full of beautiful stars awaited them.

* * *

Again, I apologize for the predictability. Hope you enjoyed it!! Remember...reviews are love! 


	7. Chapter 7

Hey there! I know, I know...It's been a REALLY long time and I apologize strongly for that. For some reason, I've had a really hard time with this chapter. That's why it's kind of short. I wanted to get what I had out to you guys so at least you had _something_ to read while I got through it. I'm still working but it's a little slow going. Anyway...Thanks to all those who have reviewed. I promise it won't take so long to get the next one out. ::crosses fingers:: The next chapter has been started but, like I said, it's slow going. I still don't know why. It was actually part of this chapter, but I was having such a hard time continuing, I just cut it and decided to make it the beginning of the next. Anyway...Remember it's not beta'd so be nice and I'm sorry it's short. But at least it's something, right? :-) Please review and tell me if this one is up to par. I always think each chapter could be total crap so let me know if it is and I'll work extra hard to make the next one better! Now...On to the story!

* * *

Their Companion - ch. 7

The next morning, Hermione woke up with a smile. They had stayed up for hours, pointing out stars and constellations. They had even made a wish or two on some falling stars. She'd seen a side of George she didn't even know existed...and she liked it. He'd been charming and funny and the perfect gentleman.

She stood up and stretched, taking a deep breath and smelling something wonderful. She smiled and walked to the window. George was outside watering the garden. She smiled again and opened the window.

"Good morning," she called down to him. He looked around, confused for a moment before looking up at her window.

"Good morning," he called back, smiling. "Sleep well?"

"Quite well, thank you."

"Good. Well you'd better come down then. I"ve got some breakfast ready."

"Alright. I'll be down in a sec."

She closed the window and watched George walk back inside. She smiled again and quickly got dressed.

* * *

Hermione came downstairs and found George setting the table. The food was already in place and he was setting a vase with fresh flowers in the center.

"Those are beautiful," Hermione said, smiling.

"Well then," he said, pulling one of the flowers out of the bunch and handing it to her. "For you."

"Thank you, she said, taking the offered flower and smelling it.

"So," he said, pulling out a chair. "I hope you like pancakes."

"As long as there is lots of syrup."

"Definitely."

* * *

The days went by with not much happening. Every morning, Hermione woke to George having made breakfast and she was beginning to realize she had severely underestimated him. He'd been true to his word at making her laugh and hadn't once asked her any more about what happened with her parents. For that, she was grateful.

After breakfast, they'd spend some time outside, or she'd spend time reading while George did...whatever it was George was doing. On those days, it was normal to hear random explosions from outside and, now, it didn't even bother her. The first few days had been nerve-wracking though.

"So..." he said on one such afternoon. "You wanna go get dinner?"

She looked up at him and almost laughed. Instead, she managed a sweet smile.

"Looking like that?"

He looked down at himself. He was covered in black soot, his clothes were singed and he was fairly certain that if he looked in a mirror, he'd be missing an eyebrow or two.

"Well," he said, looking back at her with a lop-sided grin. "Maybe I'll go take a shower first."

"Good idea," she said as he ran upstairs.

"I'll just be a minute."

"Alright," she called, settling back into her chair. She picked up the book she'd been reading and opened it. She closed it again, however, and decided to go decide what to wear to dinner.

* * *

George came back downstairs about 45 minutes later to find an empty room.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah?" came her voice from behind him.

"There you a..." he started turning around quickly to see her come down the stairs behind him. His voice trailed off when he saw her. She was dressed in an off-the-shoulder, light pink shirt and dark blue jeans. It was casual but nice and George thought it was stunning.

"Wow," he said once his mind was up and running again. "You look really nice."

"Thanks," she said, smiling shyly.

"Shall we go?"

"Sure," she said, turning toward the fireplace. She stopped when she felt a tug on her arm.

"Not that way. There's a place in London I want to try."

"You want to go to a muggle restaurant?"

"Sure. It's not like I've never been to London. Fred took one of his girlfriends there last year. He said it was really good."

"One of his girlfriends?" Hermione said with a smirk.

"Well, you know Fred," George said, offering her his arm. "He changes girlfriends almost as often as he changes shirts."

"And you?" she asked, taking his arm and trying to sound conversational instead of truly interested.

"Well I'm a big believer in changing shirts pretty often," he said, looking at her with a smile. He looked away and they started walking toward the door as he said "Girlfriends, not so much."

Hermione smiled to herself as George held open the front door.

"That's good to know," she said quietly as he wrapped an arm around her and flashed them out of sight.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it! Remember, reviews are love!


	8. Chapter 8

Hello once again. Look at me! Three updates in almost 18 months! Watch me go! Okay...so I must REALLY apologize for a couple of things. First off, I'm sorry for taking so long to get the next chapter up. I must confess, I've had this chapter written for a long time now. I was just to lazy, then to busy, then to lazy again to get it on the computer. But it's here now right? I won't promise this time that I'll have another chapter out in a week or whatever. What I will promise is that this story will be finished. I won't abandon it no matter how long it takes to finish.

Thank you to all the reviewers out there! I didn't expect it to be so well recieved! I'm glad everyone is enjoying it! Again, sorry for taking so long.

* * *

Their Companion - ch. 8

They appeared in an alleyway in between buildings and walked out onto the sidewalk. It had been a while since Hermione had been in the city, so she took a moment to get used to it again. The people were bustling by, going about their business and not paying any attention to them.

"This is it," George said, indicationg a resturant across the street. "Hope you like Italian."

Hermione nodded and smiled up at him. "It's one of my favorites."

"Let's go then," he said, offering her his arm. She took it and he led her across the street.

Inside, it was just like any other resturant. It was nice, but not too nice and as soon as their eyes adjusted, they saw a hostess coming their way.

"How many?" she asked sweetly.

"Two," George said.

"Right this way."

They followed her to a nice table. The dimly lit lamps gave off a romantic glow and, now that she really looked, the table seemed sort of secluded. George pulled out her chair for her, then seated himself across from her and she briefly wondered if he'd planned it this way.

"This is nice," Hermione said, once they had ordered drinks.

"Yes it is," he said, looking around. "Looks like Fred didn't steer me wrong."

"How did Fred find out about it?"

"One of our customers mentioned it one day and when the girl that Fred was with at the time said he was running out of nice places to take her, he tried here."

"Was she impressed?" she asked. _Like I am,_ she added to herself.

"I dunno. I didn't see her again. He was with someone else two days later."

"I see," she said, and they both began to laugh.

* * *

The night went well. The food was excellent and Hermione hadn't enjoyed herself so much in a long time. George was a complete gentleman and she was continuuously surprised at how much she had underestimated him. Fred, she found out from his descriptions, hadn't been underestimated quite as much.

After dinner, they decided to go see a film. They stood for quite some time, trying to figure out which film to see. They finally decided on a romantic comedy. Well, Hermione decided on a romantic comedy. George only agreed with the understanding that the next one would be an action film. Hermione was very aware of the fact that meant that there would be a next time. She felt oddly happy.

"It always amazes me," George said as they walked out of the cenima, "that muggles have moving pictures that _talk_!"

"That's why they're called _movies_ George," Hermione said with a laugh, wrapping her arm aruond the arm he offered.

"I suppose," he said thoughtfully. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Is there anywhere around that has good milkshakes?" she asked.

He grinned and steered her into an alley. "I know just the place," he said, wrapping his arms around her and disappearing with a light pop.

* * *

They reappeared in an alley Hermione didn't recognize, however when they walked out onto the street, she recognized it instantly. She had been here many times with her parents. She looked up at George with big eyes.

"You brought me to Paris?"

"You asked for the best milkshake," he said innocently, smiling down at her. "There's a little shop just down there that has the best in Europe!"

"But I didn't mean we had to leave the country!"

"I know," George said, just a little bit nervous. "But there aren't any really good places around where we were. We were gonna have to go somewhere anyway, so I figured, why not go for the best!"

She smiled as he rambled on. He was cute when he was nervous. He and Ron were more alike than she'd realized.

"George," she said, stopping his rambling. "It's okay. I just meant you shouldn't have gone to all the trouble."

"No trouble, Hermione," he said after a few moments. "No trouble at all. Just a simple pop really. Now," he went on, offering her his arm. "How about that milkshake?"

Taking his arm, she nodded and smiled, allowing him to lead her down the busy Paris street.

Sitting at a little table, George watched Hermione as she happily sipped her milkshake. She was nothing like she had been when she'd shown up at The Burrow almost three weeks earlier. She had been so sad that day. Now she seemed much happier and he allowed himself a little pride at the fact it was partly due to him. She'd even told him so.

Still, he knew that the issue of her parents would have to be addressed. The hadn't spoken any more about it since that night and he'd been content to leave it that way. But he knew the problem wouldn't go away just because they pretended it didn't exist. Someday, she would have to face the problem and he found himself a little surprised at how fiercly he wanted to face it with her.

"George?" he heard her say. "George are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said, bringing his focuse up to the worried look on her face and smiled. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Oh," she said simply, making a face.

"What was that look for?"

"Well," she said with a smirk. "Usually when you think, either something funny is about to happen or something is about to explode!"

"Oh ha ha," he said with a smile. "I don't _always_ think about that!"

"You don't?" she asked innocently.

He made a face and they both began laughing.

"Come on," he said once they'd finally gotten themselves under control. "We should get back. It's getting late."

"Yeah," she said, looking around. It was dark already and lights were coming on all down the street. "It really is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he said, but he wasn't looking at the lights.

She looked back to him because of the dreamy sound to his voice. He was already looking somewhere else but she could have sworn she saw a bit of color around his ears.

"So," he said, clearing his throat and quickly standing up, offering her a hand. "Shall we go?"

"Let's," she said, smiling as she took his hand.

Hand in hand, they walked into a nearby alley and disappeared with a slight pop.

* * *

Seconds later tehy arrived outside The Burrow. It was already dark as they walked inside. If either noticed they were still holding hands, they didn't say anything or make any move to change it.

When they got inside, the were greeted by a softly hooting, slightly unfamiliar small brown owl. Slightly unfamiliar to George, anyway. Hermione seemed to know the bird as it happened to be the one her parents had used while she was in school.

Slowly she took the letter marked "Hermione" from the bird and opened it. George watched as she begame more and more distressed the further she read. The color drained from her face and by the time she got to the end of the letter she was shaking with anger and very close to tears. George wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. However he had the chance, she was gone, leaving the open letter on the table. He heard her door slam shut as he picked up the letter.

"_Dear Hermione,_

_We had to use this bird as we knew a normal letter wouldn't reach you. Seeing as we have no idea where you are, we figured he'd be able to find you. He is your bird after all. Aren't they supposed to be able to find you wherever you are or something?_

_Your father and I were quite disturbed to find you gone when we returned home from work. Harsh and irrational things were said and I wish things had gone better. I know things cannot be taken back, but maybe they can be mended. Your father and I are willing to forgive you for the things you said and for leaving without telling us. He's even decided to give you a part-time job at the practice until you start University this fall! Isn't that wonderful?_

_I know things will be hard at first while you get used to living in the normal world again, but I know you could do it if you tried. I can't wait to see you again since all this nonsense is behind us! Hope to see you soon!_

_Love,_

_Your Mother."_

George balled up the letter, put it into a bowl and set fire to it. How dare they! Forgive _her_? Didn't they care about her feelings at all? He took a deep breath and gave the owl a treat. Hermione needed some time to herself. He'd check on her later.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

Okay. First off, I have to appologize for taking so long to update. I wouldn't be surprised if I lost half my readers. Really, I really am sorry. For a while I had major writer's block on both of my stories I'm working on. Then I had it written, just not typed. Add that with major computer problems (like, completely reformatting my hard drive) and the fact that for the last 3 days or so the site wouldn't let me upload and I end up with readers that had to wait a long time. Anyway, as I said before, this story will NOT be abandoned, even if the updates are few and far between. I will warn you though, the next chapter has not been written yet (yes I know I'm lazy) so don't get all upset if the next update isn't for a little while. I really want to thank all those people who are reading and sticking with it and reviewing. It means a lot to me that you guys like it and are waiting on stuff. Okay...anyway...on to the story!

* * *

Their Companion – ch. 9

Hermione stayed in her room the rest of the night and most of the next day. On his way to bed, George could hear her crying. He was tempted to go in and check on her more than once but thought better of it.

When it came time for dinner, he was truly worried and couldn't put off checking on her anymore. Slowly he went to her room and lightly knocked on the door.

"Hermione?" he said quietly, slowly opening the door in case she wasn't dressed.

She was dressed. In fact, she was still in the clothes from the night before. She was lying on the bed with her back to the door but, somehow, he knew she was awake.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

"No," she said softly as he walked over to the bed. "No I'm not."

She turned over and looked up at him with the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. Her eyes were still wet and it broke his heart. He sat down next to her and wiped away a stray tear.

"Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head as she felt her tears start again. Launching herself into his arms, she buried her face into his chest and cried. This time, instead of being horrified, George wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"It's okay," he said quietly as he ricked her back and forth. "It'll be okay. We'll get through this."

It took her a minute, but she finally pulled back and looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face.

"We?"

"Yeah," he said with a soft smile. "We. You don't need to go through this by yourself."

She wrapped her arms around him again and actually hugged him.

"Thank you," she said into his chest. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime," he said, laying his head on top of hers. "Anytime."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next few days, Hermione had gone from sad about what her mother had written, to angry. Sometimes she rivaled Mrs. Weasley and that's when George knew to stay out of the way.

Because of this, she was also prone to bouts of tears. The tears he was no longer afraid of and would silently hold her until they stopped.

Eventually these moments slowed down and then stopped. Hermione hadn't spoken any more about the letter, but she seemed to be feeling better and, for that, George was grateful. Not that he minded holding her when she needed it, but the tears were starting to tear him apart. She didn't talk much, but at least she was starting to smile some.

"Hermione," George said one day about a week later. "I'm going to Diagon Alley. Will you be okay?"

"Can I go?" she asked quietly.

"Sure," he said, a little surprised. "Of course you can. Anyplace specific you want to go?"

"No," she said. "Just to get out."

"Alright," George said with a smile. "Let's go."

George held out his arm to her. She took it and he led her outside, disappearing them from sight.

They reappeared in to the left of Gringotts, the wizarding bank and easily the biggest and most noticeable building in all of Diagon Alley.

"So where do you have to go?" Hermione asked as they started walking.

"I need to stop into Gambol & Japes for a moment and then into Flourish & Blotts." Hermione made a strange noise and he made a face at her. "Don't act so surprised. I do have to do research every now and then."

"Sorry," she said, still giggling.

"I guess I can forgive you," he said with a smile. "Anyway, I need to stop into our store here to check on things since it's been a while since we've been by. And if you behave yourself, I'll buy you lunch."

"Well thank you," Hermione said innocently. "So which one first."

"Flourish & Blotts," he said, pulling a face. "We'll get the worst part done first."

They both laughed as they headed towards the bookstore.

George spent about half an hour in the bookstore, looking for the information he needed, before he was ready to leave. In fact, he wanted to run faster than a snitch out of there.

There was only one problem with his plan. Her name was Hermione and she had firmly planted herself in a reading chair with a very large stack of books.

"Well you come on if I buy them for you?" he finally said tiredly. He'd been sitting there waiting on her for seemed like forever.

She looked up from her books and rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. Then she stood up. "You can buy half."

George grabbed more than half the stack and all but ran to the register. Hermione giggled as she picked up the few books left and followed him.

Five minutes later they were back out on the street headed for WWW. Hermione had only been there once and found it odd that he didn't take her there on their original shopping spree. She decided she'd ask him when they got home.

It surprised her again at how little time they spent there. He was kidding when he said he just wanted to stop by. They were out in ten minutes heading towards Gambol & Japes. Something else she'd have to ask him about.

"So what are we doing here?" she asked as they walked in. "Aren't they the competition?"

"Research," he said with a smile. "Got to keep up with the times."

They wondered around for a little while, pretending to shop while George subtly took notes. Notes that he would undoubtedly share with Fred when he got back. George said he was staying in Ireland a few extra weeks because of some girl. _In fact_, she thought to herself,_ maybe that's why he didn't want to spend much time in his own store…where Fred's current girlfriend works._ She giggled.

"What?" George asked, looking up from his notes.

"Nothing," Hermione said, still holding back giggles. "Should I buy something so we don't look suspicious?"

"That's a good idea," George said with a smile. "What are you going to buy?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she said, walking away with a grin on her face.

That made George laugh and not a little nervous. "I'll make a trickster out of you yet," he said shaking his head.

"You might just do that," she said as she began browsing.

George could only stare. "I've created a monster," he said out loud, shaking his head again as he went back to taking notes.

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What did ya think? The next one shouldn't take as long as this one, but we'll see how it plays. Remember, reviews are love!


	10. Chapter 10

Hello all! Yes I realize it has been a REALLY long time. Reasons? Um...I've been lazy, my computer crashed...twice, been lazy. Oh and I've been working on an original short script so that's been taking up some time too. Balancing more than one writing project at the time is not fun and I have about 4 so that's what's making stuff go so slow. I promise I'll get another update out before the end of the year! lol Seriously, I'm hoping for an ever couple of weeks type of schedule. Hopefully the story and my muses will keep that schedule also. Big big thanks to everyone who reviewed. It's glad to see people are still reading it and want the next chapter! Now on to the story!

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Another half hour found George and Hermione on their way to The Leaky Cauldron for lunch, Hermione carrying a little brown bag and George desperately trying to find out what was in it.

"Honestly, George," she said as they were seated. "It's just a package of stink pellets."

He just looked at her unbelievingly. She sighed and handed him the bag.

"Look for yourself!"

He took the bag from her and carefully peeked inside. Sure enough, all that was inside were stink pellets. He relaxed a little and looked up at her.

"But you said..."

"I know what I said," she cut him off. "But I couldn't come up with anything good, so I just got these to make it look like we were shopping."

"And then spent the last thirty minutes making me think you'd come up with something terrible!"

"I did, didn't I?" she said with a slightly evil, yet somehow innocent grin.

"You little trickster!" he said, sounding somewhere between amused and annoyed. "You planned it all out!"

Her grin turned into a full out smile. "And it worked. I must say I'm rather proud of myself."

"And you should be," George said as their food arrived. "It's not every day an amateur can pull one over on a professional such as myself."

"Amateur?"

"Mm hm, but maybe with a little training we could have you as good as us professional in no time."

"Well thank you, great master, but I don't think I want to make a career out of it."

"But it's such a great career!" George said. "I would even give you a job in the shop so you can watch us masters up close."

"I may have to take you up on that job offer one day," Hermione said with a laugh. "But I think I'll skip 'learning from the masters.'"

"Suit yourself," George said, taking a bite of his food. "But you'd have made a great prankster."

"Well thank you," she said, smiling at him.

George smiled back, feeling his heart race. He had no idea why Hermione's smile affected him this way and he wasn't totally sure he liked it. Then again, he wasn't sure he disliked it either.

* * *

They finished their lunch in relative silence, then George popped them back home. Hermione found it interesting that she was starting to think of The Burrow as 'home' instead of 'Ron's House'.

Hermione was laying on her bed reading and trying not to think of certain things when there was a little knock on the door.

"Come in, George," she said with a smile, loving how he knocked, even if the door was open.

"Hey," he said, popping his head in before coming all the way into the room. "You busy?"

"No. Just reading. Why?"

"Well, I was about to go for a walk and was wondering if you wanted to go."

She smiled sweetly and put her book aside. "Sure," she said sitting up. "Just let me put some shoes on."

"Alright," he said, smiling back. "I'll meet you downstairs."

"I'll be right down," she said as he left.

Smiling to herself, Hermione quickly put on her shoes and stood up to give herself a look over in the mirror.

_Ugh! _she thought to herself. _I can't go out there looking like that!_ She cast a quick charm to tame her hair, then looked back into the mirror. _Much better_ she thought, then left to meet George downstairs.

* * *

"I had no idea your family had so much land!" Hermione said, sitting on a rock and drinking some of the water George had thoughtfully remembered to bring.

"Yeah," he said, taking a drink from his own water. "Unfortunately it's mostly forest and Dad never had the heart to cut it down. He tried to sell it once, but nobody would buy it."

"Why not?"

"I dunno. I guess it would take too much to clear it. Plus there's always been a rumor that there's a herd of Centaurs somewhere back in there."

"Really?" Hermione said excitedly.

"Yeah. As far as I know nobody's ever seen one. But nobody wanted the land because of it anyway. I guess if the rumors turned out to be true, they didn't want to have to deal with a herd of angry Centaurs."

"I guess not. Centaurs can be very difficult to deal with."

"Yeah. So we're stuck with it. Which is okay by me. I like being able to walk out here."

"I can see why," Hermione said, watching a squirrel run up a tree. "It's so peaceful."

"Yeah," George said, taking a seat on the rock beside her.

They sat in silence for a while, just taking in their surroundings and listening to the birds sing high above their heads. It was spellbinding to say the least.

"Hey!" Hermione said suddenly, nearly scaring George off of his place on the rock. "I know what we could do!"

"What?" George said, sounding slightly annoyed as he tried to get his heart rate to go back to normal. "Scare each other to death?"

"Sorry," she said, rubbing his shoulder.

"That's okay," he said with a deep sigh, calming almost instantly. A fact he'd file away for later analysis. "So what could we do?"

"I think we should go look for them."

"Who?" George said, nearly asleep from the shoulder rub.

"The Centaurs!" Hermione said excitedly.

That woke him up considerably.

"The Centaurs?" he said, straightening up a little. The rubbing, which had moved over to his neck, stopped. The fact that she didn't remove her had completely made him slightly giddy.

"Yeah! We should go see if we can find out if they're really there!"

"Why would we do that?"

"I just told you, silly. And it would give us something to do for a while."

"I dunno, Hermione," George said. "It could be dangerous."

"Dangerous? George, so far in my life, I've escaped a 3-headed dog, been petrified, chased by a werewolf, fought against Death Eaters and nearly been killed in various other ways more times than I can count. I think looking for Centaurs that may or may not exist on land owned by my friends will be a walk in the park!"

"I dunno," George said, still unconvinced.

"Come on, George," Hermione pleaded. "Please?"

And then she did it. She game him those big, brown, pleading eyes and George was lost. He knew that, for the rest of his life, he'd never be able to say no to those eyes. She had effectively wrapped him around her little finger and he didn't even know it until it was too late. He was a little shocked to realize he didn't mind.

"Okay," he said with a big sigh. "We'll look for Centaurs."

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Hope you enjoyed it! Remember, reviews are love!


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